Star AI investor Leopold Aschenbrenner is unwinding trades after steep losses, sources say

Leopold Aschenbrenner and his $24 billion hedge fund, Situational Awareness, are currently liquidating positions following significant losses. The firm, which gained attention for its concentrated bets on artificial intelligence infrastructure, is now facing pressure from prime brokers including Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and JPMorgan Chase to meet margin requirements.

Recent market movements hit the fund hard. Declines in key AI infrastructure holdings such as SK Hynix, alongside losses from short positions in software companies like Adobe, created a liquidity crunch. The firm is actively seeking to raise cash by offloading various holdings. This includes efforts to sell stakes in private companies like Anthropic, where buyers have shown interest in acquiring parts of the position.

This development marks a stark shift for Aschenbrenner, a former OpenAI researcher who established the fund on the premise that massive expansion in compute and energy infrastructure is inevitable. His thesis drove heavy investment into companies like Nebius Group, Micron, and CoreWeave. With these stocks down over 35% this month, the fund is now in a position where it must reduce exposure to survive current volatility.

The situation remains fluid as the firm attempts to resolve margin calls. It is currently unclear if these asset sales are sufficient to stabilize the portfolio or if a more extensive liquidation process is underway. The outcome of this unwinding serves as a major test for the investment strategies surrounding the AI hardware build-out.